Spice Girls’ Mel B Obtains Restraining Order Against Husband, Alleging History of Abuse

Stephen Belafonte and Mel B attend the premiere of Barbershop: The Next Cut in April 2016.
CREDIT: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Former Spice Girl Mel B obtained a restraining order Monday against estranged husband Stephen Belafonte, alleging a harrowing history of physical and emotional abuse, sexual coercion, and blackmail, TMZ reports.

Over the course of their 10-year relationship, Mel B alleges that Belafonte hit her, choked her, and pushed her onto the floor; pressured her into participating in threesomes by threatening to release secretly recorded sex tapes; impregnated the couple’s nanny, who later had an abortion; and once, after Mel B attempted to overdose on aspirin, she says Belafonte locked her in a room to prevent her from calling emergency services while telling her, “Die, bitch!”

Mel B filed for divorce from Belafonte in March, listing a separation date in December 2016, People previously reported. The couple married in Las Vegas in 2007 after a whirlwind romance. They have a five-year-old daughter together, in addition to a total of three children from prior relationships.

Though this is the first time Mel B has publicly accused Belafonte of abuse, unsavory rumors have swirled for years. In 2014, Mel B missed an episode as a judge on the U.K. version of TheX Factor after being admitted to the hospital, and alarmed fans when she reappeared during the season finale with apparent bruises. Belafonte subsequently took to Twitter to deny rumors of abuse.

Back in 2003, Belafonte pleaded “no contest” to a battery charge involving a prior girlfriend. According to the Daily Mail, he was charged with assault in 1993 (the charge was later reduced to vandalism) and convicted of theft in 2001.

Over the weekend, TMZ reported that federal agents served a search warrant on Belafonte’s home in Hollywood, looking for firearms. (Because of his domestic violence history, Belafonte is prohibited from owning guns.) The agents apparently came up empty-handed, but among today’s allegations, Mel B claims that Belafonte keeps a gun at home.